"I really do believe that this twenty first century

and in fact the first quarter of this twenty first century will be an enormously important era in the history of Islam in America.

It is this period that future generations will look back to and if those generations are successful and they are enjoying a dignified existence as Muslims in America, neither assimilated nor isolated, then they will look back to the activities of this generation, this one right here, and say ‘that was the beginning.’

And if they are failures, they will look still, back to this generation, this one right here, and say ‘they were failures.’ We are right now making history whether we like it or not. If we do absolutely nothing, we are making history and our contribution to history therefore will be nothing. Allah has placed us in a historically significant place and now we are living in a historically significant time, and what we do will make all the difference in the world.

(Dr. Sherman Jackson, Muslims at the Crossroads, ISNA 2003)